Posted on July 1, 2024May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: John Calkin Article in AL#99 on Spanish Neck Style Letter: John Calkin Article in AL#99 on Spanish Neck Style by David Freeman Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Hello Tim — After reading John Calkin’s article in AL#99, I would like to add to the discussion of neck rake. It is true that building in the Spanish integral-neck style allows everything to be attached flat. The top is held flat, more to get the sides on at 90° than to get the neck rake proper. As soon as the body is off the form, the top rises in a curve, depending on the bracing style and relative humidity. These deviations will affect final neck set. The full-size side-view drawing John discusses is a valuable exercise to determine angles to aim for in neck rake. The variable of top arch is the most difficult to determine. In the Spanish style, I will allow 1/16"–1/8" for top arch. This varies with top graduation and brace straightness or taper on the glue edge. Both will add to top arch. I also keep my relative humidity between 40%–50% when assembling the body. I try to dry the top to 25%–30% humidity when I am bracing them. This allows the top to swell considerably and have a lot of shrink before it cracks in dry conditions. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Scalloped Fretboard The Scalloped Fretboard by Dave Schneider Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The Indian culture introduced the bending of strings on a fretted instrument. They elevated the frets by means of bridges to accommodate string-bending techniques. Later they changed the bridges to arched pieces of wire tied on around the back of the neck. Citterns (a medieval instrument with wire strings) had a slightly scalloped fingerboard because the frets were about level with the fingerboard. John McLaughlin brought this type of string bending to the Western hemisphere with the group Shakti. He incorporated the use of Indian instruments (tabla, tambora) with L. Shankar’s violin and his custom-built “drone string guitar.” Three of these scalloped neck guitars were made for him in the Gibson custom shop by Abraham Wechter in late ’75. They had seven “drone” strings running diagonally across the soundboard and the fingerboards were scalloped between the frets to accommodate the Indian-style string bending. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on April 21, 2023May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips A Special Guitar Neck Modification A Special Guitar Neck Modification by Ralph Bonte Originally published in American Lutherie #103, 2010 Last week I was able to make someone very happy. Christophe contacted me through my website, in pursuit of a luthier who could help him with his problem. Four years ago he had an accident while cleaning up the bushes surrounding his house. He was working with a wood chipper and wearing safety gloves. To make a long and painful story short, had he not worn the gloves he would have lost the tip of his left thumb. Due to the gloves, his thumb got caught in the motor of the chipper and was torn out of his hand, causing troubles for the muscles and tendons in his arm. Christophe used to be a recording artist playing the guitar. It took him four years of physical therapy to overcome and adapt to the new situation. In the past year, the urge to play the guitar again became overwhelming. However, he could no longer play a regular guitar since he lost the support of his left thumb. He tried a prosthesis, but that didn’t work. He found it too awkward. When I read his message, I immediately agreed to do the work, although I did not know how I was going to do it. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 1, 2022May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Neck-to-Body Joint Neck-to-Body Joint by Garth Fleming Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #74, 1978 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 This method of joining the neck to the body was discovered by a violinmaker friend and is effective and reasonably easy to cut. It’s basically a straight mortise and tenon joint with an angle (a) added, which gives it a locking effect like a dovetail joint. The sides of the tenon are cut and the angle a is cut. If a tight fit is managed with the female section in the heel block, it makes a reliable joint. ◆
Posted on March 4, 2022May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Mossman Truss Rod Adjustment Mossman Truss Rod Adjustment by S.L. Mossman Originally published as Guild of American Luthier's Data Sheet #263, 1983 Explanation of the Truss Rod and how it Works The steel rod is laid in at a curve. The curve extends from the first fret and tapers off at the ninth fret. Since the rod is anchored at both ends, when the nut end is tightened it simply shortens the rod by pulling the curve out of the rod and straightening itself, forcing the low part of the rod up and pulling the hight point down, which is the point of least resistance, causing a back bow in the neck. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
